Family 'Broken' as Young Mum Given 18-Month Prognosis After Migraine Misdiagnosis
A 25-year-old mother who was repeatedly told her debilitating head pressure was caused by migraines has received the devastating news that she has just 18 months to live. Paige Carter from Milton Keynes visited her GP three times complaining of excruciating pain, only to be informed it was likely severe headaches or a reaction to her contraceptive implant.
From Headaches to Heartbreak: A Rapid Deterioration
Paige's condition deteriorated dramatically in December while she was waiting for an MRI scan, after an optometrist discovered inflammation in her optic nerve. In January, she received the heartbreaking diagnosis of a grade-four glioma, with doctors giving her the grim prognosis.
The mum-of-one, who works as a healthcare assistant in a paediatric emergency department, has now redefined her illness as 'life-limiting' and is focused on creating precious memories with her daughter Willow, who turns two in March.
"When the doctor said 18 months, I didn't believe her," Paige revealed. "I'm only 25 - I'm so young. It broke my whole family. We didn't understand how this could all come from a bit of head pain and pressure."
The Medical Journey: From GP Visits to Emergency Surgery
Paige explained that the pressure in her head first started in late spring last year, describing the sensation as "someone squeezing her brain." When she visited her GP in June, she claims she was told it was probably migraines and was prescribed anti-inflammatory medication during a second appointment.
However, Paige was experiencing the pain daily, and during her third GP appointment in December, they suggested removing her contraceptive implant, believing it might be hormone-related. They also advised an eye examination, and on December 9, an optometrist identified swelling in her optic nerve.
After discussing her additional symptoms, she was referred for an MRI scan scheduled for January. On December 27, Paige awoke with intense pressure in her head, found herself unable to raise it and began vomiting.
She contacted her parents Kate and Steve, who hurried back whilst her best friend drove her to A&E at Milton Keynes Hospital. Paige underwent a CT scan and doctors informed her there was a mass in her head, and she was immediately blue-lighted to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
"I went straight to a high dependency neurological bed where they gave me a steroid to reduce the inflammation," Paige said. "They said the location of the tumour is close to my bed stem and it was blocking intercranial fluid from draining. I had surgery to drain the fluid, which took six hours, and my brain also began to bleed, so they had to put in a temporary drain. They took a biopsy and I was told the mass was cancer and inoperable."
The Diagnosis: A Golf Ball-Sized Tumour
Medical professionals informed Paige she had a H3K27M-mutant glioma, measuring the size of a golf ball - 24mm long and 46mm wide.
"They told me I'd never be cancer-free," Paige shared. "In the first week after my diagnosis, nobody knew what to say or how to act. But a family friend with the same disease was given a year to live and four years later she's still here. It's given me so much hope."
Treatment and Advocacy for Brain Cancer Research
Paige, who is battling fatigue and nausea, has undergone 33 radiotherapy sessions and volunteered for a clinical trial. She is now urging the government to boost research funding for brain cancers, which are the leading cause of cancer deaths in children and adults under 40.
"You just don't know until you're in this position how scary the disease is and what it can do," Paige emphasized. "Brain cancers get just one per cent of all the funding for cancers. It's such a low proportion. We'd like to see personalised treatments, more trials and turn the terminal into treatable."
Creating Lasting Memories with Her Daughter
To help Paige create lasting memories with her daughter Willow and ease financial stress during her inability to work, her friends have established a GoFundMe page.
"My daughter is so young and memories are going to be important," Paige added. "We want to go to Disneyland Paris, on a family cruise and a trip out to Cornwall."
The young mother's story highlights the critical importance of thorough medical investigation for persistent symptoms and the urgent need for increased research funding for brain cancers that disproportionately affect young people.
